Roskam calls experience with town halls 'miserable'

CHICAGO — After months of refusing to hold a public town hall meeting in the face of protests, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), on Monday revealed his true feelings for that style of event.

“It was miserable,” Roskam told the City Club of Chicago, a city civic group. “People came in angry, they left angrier.”

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The six-term congressman — who'sheld exactly one town hall since he’s entered Congress — went on to describe the gatherings as places where people "shout at each other" before making his case for tele-town halls, which he described as more civil.

The remarks came as demonstrators dressed in black outside of the Monday event held a faux “funeral” for Roskam’s career.

Protesters have hounded the congressman for months, urging him to hold a public meeting to address everything from President Donald Trump's recent executive orders to answers about changes to the Affordable Care Act. Roskam ticked off a long list of public appearances he held in 2016 around his district.

In his City Club remarks, Roskam cited a raucous meeting held by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., as something the Wheaton congressman did not want to duplicate.

“What I have found to be a lot more productive than town hall meetings where people shout at each other are tele-town hall meetings,” Roskam said.

The public has pushed back on such event formats recently, saying constituents often cannot ask questions and must rely on the public official’s office to call them.

Roskam is among Republican congressmen across the nation who are under fire for not holding in-person town halls. Some in the GOP have painted the calls as nothing more than partisan interest in gotcha moments. Recently, some 300 people turned out to a private event Roskam attended, demanding access. They were unsuccessful, but captured images of Roskam leaving out a back door, which were then circulated on local news and social media.

"I think I represent a constituency that is longing for civility in public life,” Roskam said Monday. "They don't want to hear the nonsense. They don’t want to hear the acrimony. They don’t want to hear the judgments. They want to hear solutions and that’s how I’ve tried to present myself.”